College World Series Tickets

Shakeup avoids top-ranked Sun Devils

Arizona State continues its run as the top-ranked team in the Baseball America Top 25 rankings after sweeping Pac 10 foe USC in a weekend series.

The Sun Devils are joined in the top five by Miami, North Carolina, Missouri and UC Irvine. The Anteaters move into the top five while Missouri drops two spots.

The big move down was made by Arizona, which dropped a weekend series to UCLA and fell 12 spots from No. 6 to No. 18.

The big move up was made by Nebraska, which improved eight spots to No. 11 after winning two of three over the weekend at Texas, which dropped three spots to No. 16 as a result.

New to the rankings this week are UNC-Wilmington, which has the current longest winning streak in Div. I with a 20-game run; and Cal State Fullerton, which slides in at No. 25.

This week's Baseball America Top 25 is as follows (record, last week's ranking in parenthesis):

1. Arizona State (25-1, 1), 2. Miami (21-2, 4), 3. North Carolina (21-5, 3), 4. Missouri (20-5, 2), 5. UC Irvine (19-3, 7),

6. Florida State (23-3, 8), 7. California (18-5, 11), 8. Vanderbilt (18-6, 9), 9. South Carolina (18-7, 10), 10. Long Beach State (17-7, 5),

11. Nebraska (21-4, 19), 12. Wichita State (20-3, 16), 13. Stanford (12-7, 17), 14. Virginia (23-5, 21), 15. Rice (19-9, 12),

16. Texas (18-8, 13), 17. San Diego (19-10, 14), 18. Arizona (14-9, 6), 19. Florida (20-6, 24), 20. UNC-Wilmington (21-4, NR),

21. Kentucky (22-4, 18), 22. Michigan (14-6, 25), 23. UCLA (12-10, 23), 24. Coastal Carolina (21-6, 22), 25. Cal State Fullerton (15-9, NR).

Which of these teams will finish the year at Rosenblatt Stadium? Don't wait -- get your College World Series tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no College World Series game is ever sold out.

Will the "north" rise again at College World Series?

When you start rattling off the names of teams that have won the College World Series, a pattern quickly develops: most of them are schools located in warm-weather regions of the country.

In fact, in the 61 years the College World Series has crowned a national champion, the vast majority of winners come from the south side of the Mason-Dixon line. In fact, until Oregon State won the first of its back-to-back titles in 2006, it had been 40 years since a true cool-climate school has left Rosenblatt Stadium with the title of College World Series champions.

During the first 20 years of the College World Series, the north held its own with the south. Thanks mostly to the dominance of the Big 10, northern schools won the College World Series seven times during the first two decades of the tournament.

The last northern school to win during that time was Ohio State, which beat Oklahoma State to take the title in 1966. Prior to that, Minnesota had won three times (1956, 1960, 1964) and Michigan took two titles (1953, 1962). Throw in Holy Cross' win over Missouri in the 1952 finals -- along with runner-up finishes by Yale (1947-1948), Wake Forest (1949), Washington State (1950), Western Michigan (1955), Penn State (1957) and Ohio State (1965) -- and you can see the cool-weather teams fared well for themselves.

Since that time, though, it's pretty much been warm-weather schools that have dominated the tournament. Schools from California, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Florida and even Georgia celebrated on the pitcher's mound at Rosenblatt Stadium for much of the past 40 years before the Beavers' back-to-back title run the last two years.

In fact, only Southern Illinois (1968 and 1971) and Eastern Michigan (1976) have even reached the finals. Wichita State -- the closest thing to a cold-weather team -- won the 1989 title and was runner-up in 1982, 1991 and 1993, but that's as far north as it's been for cool-weather teams to reach the finals of the College World Series.

Oregon State's back-to-back titles of 2006 and 2007 could have been looked at as a start of a trend for cool-weather schools to be more competitive with their warm-weather brethren. As we inch toward the midway point of the 2008 season, though, it looks like the warm weather schools are back to dominating the college baseball scene.

Looking at the latest Baseball America rankings, only two schools from traditionally cold-weather climates are even in the top 25 rankings (No. 19 Nebraska and No. 25 Michigan). Missouri, which could go either way depending on your perception of United States geography, is the northernmost team in the rankings at No. 2. It may wind up falling on the Tigers to keep the cool-weather influence on the College World Series.

Who winds up making the trip to Rosenblatt Stadium this June remains to be seen, but no matter who plays, you'll get great seats to all the College World Series games by ordering your tickets through Ticket Express -- where no College World Series game is ever sold out.

LSU trying to recapture glory years

Remember the days when the words "Geaux Tigers" could be heard and seen at Rosenblatt Stadium more often than a cotton candy vendor?

It's been a while since the fans who are arguably the best in all of college baseball were able to make the trip to Rosenblatt Stadium and cheer on their beloved LSU Tigers at the College World Series. The Tigers last graced Omaha with their presence in 2004 and have struggled in the past few seasons to get back into the discussion among the top baseball teams in the country.

After Skip Bertman retired, the Tigers struggled under longtime assistant coach Smoke Laval. In 2005, the Tigers failed to win an NCAA regional for the first time in nine years. A year later, the Tigers missed the NCAA tournament altogether for the first time in 18 years. Laval resigned and Paul Mainieri took over a young team in 2007, one that failed to even reach the Southeastern Conference tournament for the first time since 1984.

So there's really no place for the Tigers to go but up at this point -- and they seem to be heading in that direction early in the 2008 campaign.

LSU started the year 11-3 and are playing for the final time in historic Alex Box Stadium, where the Tigers have led the nation in baseball fan attendance for the last 12 years. This year, the Tigers are playing the kind of baseball LSU fans grew accustomed to while Bertman led the Tigers to five College World Series titles, the last coming in 2000.

Players like outfielder Jared Mitchell, second baseman Ryan Schimpf and catcher Sean Ochinko have helped guide this young, improving team. The addition of junior college transfers Matt Clark and Matt Gaudet has also sparked the Tiger offense early in the season.

LSU had long been one of the marquee teams in the SEC. The lackluster finishes of the previous two seasons has taken some of the sharpness out of their bite, but the Tigers appear to be back on the prowl and looking to be one of several teams in the conference who could be in the hunt for a trip to Omaha later this summer.

And if they make it back, it will seem like old times -- both for LSU fans and the people of Omaha who have long enjoyed sharing the good times of the College World Series with their friends from the Bayou.

Whether you're an LSU fan, or just a fan of college baseball, make sure you secure your tickets for the 2008 College World Series now with Ticket Express -- where no College World Series game is ever sold out.

Sun Devils leapfrog in-state rivals in latest Baseball America Top 25 rankings

After its fourth straight undefeated week, Arizona State made the leap over their in-state rivals and are Baseball America's Top 25 rankings this week.

The Sun Devils, at 17-0, moved ahead of the Wildcats, who started the season as the publication's No. 1 team before dropping to No. 2 this week.

Three teams found their way into this week's rankings, as Coastal Carolina, Nebraska and East Carolina moved into the rankings on the heels of solid weekends. The Huskers were on a 13-game winning streak after their weekend sweep of Kansas State.

This week's Baseball America Top 25 is as follows (record and last week's ranking in parenthesis):

1. Arizona State (17-0, 2), 2. Arizona (12-2, 1), 3. North Carolina (14-3, 3), 4. Missouri (13-2, 4), 5. Vanderbilt (12-4),

6. Miami Fla. (13-2, 7), 7. Long Beach State (12-3, 9), 8. Mississippi (13-5, 5), 9. UC Irvine (14-1, 13), 10. Florida State (16-1, 14),

11. UCLA (10-5, 11), 12. California (13-2, 12), 13. South Carolina (11-5, 8), 14. Baylor (13-4, 10), 15. Rice (12-6, 15),

16. Kentucky (18-0, 17), 17. Stanford (8-4, 18), 18. Texas (12-5, 19), 19. San Diego (12-7, 21), 20. Wichita State (11-3, 24),

21. Coastal Carolina (15-2, NR), 22. Nebraska (14-2, NR), 23. East Carolina (13-4, NR), 24. Virginia (14-4, 16), 25. Michigan (8-6, 25).

Arizona State program under investigation

One of the top-ranked baseball teams in the country is conducting an internal investigation of allegations made by a former employee.

Arizona State coach Pat Murphy said an investigation into the program began in January. The investigation surrounds allegations made by a former employee who claims that incidents of academic fraud, improper recruiting travel, improper use of training facilities and violations relating to players working for Murphy's non-profit group exist within the program.

The eligibility of pitcher Jason Jarvis is a part of this investigation, according to reports. Jarvis was temporarily suspended, but regained his eligibility until an appeal over a grade for an online class is heard.

Rumors that a number of ASU players would be suspended as a result of this allegation are not true, according to Murphy, who says he has done nothing wrong and that will be no sanctions will result from the investigation.

State of Arizona heads Baseball America ratings

The state of Arizona is in control of the latest Baseball America ratings after the Sun Devils made a two-spot jump following a 5-0 week.

The Sun Devils, at 12-0, are right behind in-state and Pac 10 rival Arizona, which has held the No. 1 slot since the preseason. Fellow Pac 10 team UCLA was at No. 3, but fell eight spots after a 2-3 week.

Baylor moves into the top 10 this week after getting off to its best start in 24 years. The 10-1 Bears are No. 10, one of two Big 12 teams in the top 10. Missouri moved up two spots to No. 6 this week.

Tulane and Clemson dropped out this week, making way for Stanford and Cal State Fullerton. The Cardinal, after winning two of three on the road at Texas, is in at No. 18, one spot ahead of the Longhorns. Cal State Fullerton debuts at No. 20.

This week's Baseball America ratings are as follows (record and last week's ranking in parenthesis):

1. Arizona (10-1, 1), 2. Arizona State (12-0, 4), 3. North Carolina (10-2, 5), 4. Missouri (9-2, 6), 5. Ole Miss (10-3, 2),

6. Vanderbilt (8-3, 7), 7. Miami, Fla. (9-1, 8), 8. South Carolina (8-2, 9), 9. Long Beach State (9-2, 10), 10. Baylor (10-1, 11),

11. UCLA (7-4, 3), 12. California (9-1, 18), 13. UC Irvine (10-1, 19), 14. Florida State (12-0, 20), 15. Rice (8-5, 13),

16. Virginia (11-2, 14), 17. Kentucky (11-0, 24), 18. Stanford (8-4, NR), 19. Texas (9-4, 16), 20. Cal State Fullerton (8-4, NR),

21. San Diego (7-7, 17), 22. Oregon State (5-5, 12), 23. Oklahoma State (9-3, 21), 24. Wichita State (7-3, 25), 25. Michigan (5-5, 15).

Road To Rosenblatt: Arizona State

One team that seems to be a regular at Rosenblatt Stadium every summer is five-time College World Series champion Arizona State.

The Sun Devils have been one of college baseball's premiere programs for some time and have been the training ground for some of baseball's most feared hitters, including Bob Horner, Barry Bonds and Reggie Jackson.

Arizona State has made 22 appearances in the College World Series, but has not come away with a title since 1981. The last time they were in the finals was in 1998, when they lost home run derby to Pac 10 counterpart USC 21-14.

Last year, the Sun Devils were one of the favorites to win it all, but came up on the losing end of a 9-8 extra-inning affair to Cinderella team UC Irvine.

Many of the key players are back for the Sun Devils in 2008, and they are ranked at or near the top in most of the major rankings. They are led by slugger Brett Wallace, who led the team in home runs (16), RBI's (78) and batting average (.404) in winning the Pac 10 triple crown.

Wallace is one of four key hitters back from last year, including Ike Davis (.349, 8 HR, 61 RBI), Kiel Rolling (.356, 15 HR, 63 RBI) and Petey Paramore (.329) that directs an offense that has not been shutout in several years.

Arizona State also has a very strong pitching stafff returning, including 13-game winners Josh Satow and Mike Leake and Jason Jarvis, who had a team-best 11 saves.

The SUn Devils are off to a very good start and will no doubt be one of the teams to keep an eye on for the 2008 College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.

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Road To Rosenblatt feature: San Diego Toreros

When you mention the words "baseball" and "San Diego" -- the first thing that usually pops to mind is Tony Gwynn.

Gwynn, of course, made his name as one of the best hitters of his generation and played his entire career for his hometown San Diego Padres. And he's now the head coach at San Diego State University.

But when it comes to San Diego baseball in college, the team on everybody's radar right now is the University of San Diego Toreros, who have leaped into the upper echelon of the college baseball world and enter the 2008 season as one of the teams to watch for this summer's College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium.

Coach Rich Hill is in his 10th year with the Toreros and has taken them from a middle-of-the-road program to a team that posted its first 40-win season, became the first West Coast Conference team to earn a national seed in the NCAA tournament, and is ranked in the top 10 in every major preseason poll heading into the 2008 season.

Not bad for a school that plays in a 1,200-seat facility and lacks a revenue-generating football program.

The team scrapped its way through the West Coast Conference, but really didn't gain national attention until early in the 2006 season. It was then that a little-known Toreros squad took defending national champion Texas out behind the woodshed for a three-game sweep. When that happened, experts began to take notice that this little program was starting to make some big noise.

Last year, the Toreros ripped through the WCC and had the No. 8 national seed going into the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, they stumbled in the opening round and were unable to recover, losing to eventual College World Series participant Cal State Fullerton.

Things are looking good for this year, though. Pitcher Brian Matusz was named a first-team Preseason All-American by Baseball America, and pitcher-outfielder Josh Romanski was a second-team honoree. They are among a group of talented players returning for Coach Hill as he works to get San Diego University its first-ever trip to Rosenblatt Stadium for the 2008 College World Series.

CWS Spotlight: Cal State Fullerton

Cal State Fullerton could be considered a team in flux after losing their long-time coach, but the transition is being made smoother with the addition of a former assistant.

George Horton left CSF to start up a new program at the University of Oregon, and that opened the door for former Titans assistant Dave Serrano to return. He certainly has done well for himself since leaving CSF in 2004, leading the UC-Irvine Anteaters to last year's College World Series.

Serrano has a good group of players to inherit from his former mentor, led by returning All-American pitcher Wes Roemer, who sported an 11-7 record with a team-best 150 strikeouts in 2007. Jeff Kaplan is also back after matching Roemer's win total and recording 83 strikeouts last year.

Offensively, the Titans may not be as strong as in years past, but defensively they should be a pretty solid bunch. All three outfielders are back from last year, led by center fielder Josh Fellhauer, who is the team's top returning hitter. Chris Jones will be out in right while Khris Davis anchors left field.

The Titans open the season on the road at TCU, and should be in the mix of things when the season winds down later this spring.

CWS Spotlight: Mississippi State Bulldogs

When the postseason started, few expected Mississippi State to come out of a bracket that included a very talented Florida State team.

Not only did the Bulldogs sweep the Tallahasse regional, but they carried that over into super-regionals, sweeping Clemson to earn a trip to the College World Series.

Coach Ron Polk loses eight starters from last year's team, but has a good wealth of talent returning that should give Mississippi State a chance to repeat their postseason success of a year ago.

The Bulldogs' strength should be in its pitching, which will be led by Chad Crosswhite and Justin Pigott. Piggott logged the most innings last year, while Crosswhite was the team leader in wins. Ricky Grown and Aaron Weatherford both pitched well in relief and were team co-leaders in saves last year.

Ofensively, the Bulldogs lost a lot of pop from last year, but have some good returning talent. Brandon Turner was the team's leading hitter, batting just under .400, and Connor Powers, Mark Goforth and Andy Rice were all solid in the field and should give the Bulldogs some much-needed depth.

The Bulldogs begin the season in a rare position, starting the 2008 campaign on the road at North Florida. They will host Baylor in the Cadence Challenge May 7-9 before facing a very tough SEC docket. They do see several of the main contenders at home this year, including Ole Miss, Georgia and Vanderbilt.

South Carolina Who?

Absent from last year's College World Series, the South Carolina Gamecocks are a surprise pick for the #2 ranking on the Collegiate Baseball Newsletter's preseason poll that was just released.  South Carolina made it to the Super Regionals last year but lost to eventual College World Series runner ups North Carolina.  So why are the Gamecocks in such high regard this season?

Let's start with their phenomenal list of returning starters.  The Gamecocks bring back two All-Americans in Junior first baseman Justin Smoak and Senior catcher Phil Disher.  The infield is further bulked up by third baseman James Darnell, shortstop Reese Havens and Andrew Crisp, whose position is still up in the air.  Havens shined this summer in the Cape Cod League earning All-Star status.  The Cape Cod League is the premier league for collegiate baseball players to play in the off-season.

The pitching staff is the Gamecock's other great asset.  Led by Junior Mike Cisco, the South Carolina bullpen is a young but highly talented group of guys.  Look for Sophomore Blake Cooper to make a big splash this year.  Cooper earned Freshman All-American honors last year for his performance.

College Baseball Preseason Poll Released

The official preseason poll has been released by the Collegiate Baseball Newsletter, and it includes all of the teams that made it to the College World Series last year.  The official poll differs from other preseason polls, most significantly the Rivals.com ratings and CSTV ratings.

While both the official and Rivals polls put the Arizona Wildcats in the first place position, the CSTV poll put Arizona State in the #1 spot.  If you were wondering where CSTV put the Wildcats of Arizona, scroll down the page to find out that they are ranked 25th, the last spot.

So why do the preseason polls differ so much?  I believe that the CSTV poll looks at last season's performance more than they do other factors such as returning players and staffs.  For example the CSTV poll puts five out of the eight teams that made it to the College World Series last year in the top 10.  The official poll and Rivals poll each only put three teams that made it to the CWS last year in the top 10.

Pac 10 Packs Heavy Punch This Year

Unexpectedly, the Pac 10 has come into the limelight this season, thanks in large part from back-to-back College World Series champions, the Oregon State Beavers.  Rivals.com takes a good look at the Pac 10 and showcases some teams that could make it to the College World Series this year: Arizona State, Arizona, Oregon State, and UCLA.

I always find it odd that when predictions come out the Beavers from Oregon State never get the credit they deserve.  Rivals picked them finish fourth in the Pac 10 this year.  Fourth?  Not only have the Beavers dominated the last two College World Series, but they bring back a slew of great players.  The pitching staff impresses me the most.  Senior Mike Stutes returns to head the pack and is backed by sensational sophomore Jorge Reyes.